Recommend a cheap reliable smartphone.

[TheLurker]

MrsL wants to get a smartphone.  I know nothing about them because I'm not the least bit interested in having one so tell me, what's the cheapest, most reliable set up?

Usage will probably be low  / intermittent.

[Kim]

Like any computing device, too cheap may be a false economy.  What does she actually want to use it for?

[Beardy]

Probably the cheapest way into a reliable smartphone would be an apple refurb iPhone SE. It’s that or the law of diminishing returns on looking at various older Android models.

[Mr Larrington]

Probably the cheapest way into a reliable smartphone would be an apple refurb iPhone SE. It’s that or the law of diminishing returns on looking at various older Android models.

FSVO “cheapest”.  I bought a brand-new Moto G10 a couple of months ago for less than half the price of the cheapest refurbed JesusPhone offered by the Mega-Global Fruit Corporation of Cupertino, USAnia.

[TheLurker]

Like any computing device, too cheap may be a false economy.  What does she actually want to use it for?

Agreed, hence the qualifier "reliable".  There's cheap and nasty and there's cheap and serviceable.  Usage? Apparently mainly access to e-mail on the hoof.

[Tim Hall]

Motorola seem to have a good bang/buck number. I've got a G8 power which I got a year or so ago for, umm, 130 notes (I think). Apart from "cheapest", what is the budget here?

[lissotriton]

Or Moto E20 or E30 for cheaper, simpler option. Was available for about £60 or £80 or so.
Got one for my dad, seems pretty decent, works fine for most stuff, pretty good battery life.

[RJC]

Any small android phones (<=5") that are OK?
Something like Moto E20 probably good enough for my modest needs apart from the size.

[Polar Bear]

Both mllePB and her father are still running Samsung Galaxy S7 handsets although I personally would probably not venture back beyond the S9 version myself.  The S7 is now 6 years old and definitely beyond support whereas my old S9 received an update only yesterday. 

As I say though, the S7's are still performing perfectly fine as phones, surfing and email devices.